Tape guide device for magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A tape guide device for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus includes a pole base assembly to guide a tape supplied from a supply reel and passed through a predetermined path to be moved horizontally to a read surface of a head drum. The pole base assembly includes a pole base installed adjacently to or separately from one side of the head drum during a loading/unloading operation of the tape. The pole base assembly also includes a pole unit including a spiral flange inclined to the pole base to be in a horizontal direction to the read surface of the head drum, to guide the tape entering the head drum to be inclined at a predetermined angle and positioned in the horizontal direction to the read surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No.2002-2800, filed Jan. 17, 2002, in the Korean Industrial PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a magnetic recording/reproducingapparatus, and more particularly, to a tape guide device for a magneticrecording/reproducing apparatus which guides a tape released from acassette tape recorder and loaded to contact a head drum.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] In general, a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, such as avideo cassette tape recorder and a camcorder, records information on arecording medium such as a magnetic tape, and reproduces the recordedinformation.

[0006] The magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus includes a main deckon which a head drum is rotatably installed, a main sliding memberpositioned on the main deck to be slid in a right/left direction, a subdeck disposed at the main deck to be slid in an upper/lower direction, atransferring unit to transfer a cassette tape mounted on the sub deck toa predetermined position of the main deck and a reel table on which twotape reels of the cassette tape are positioned, and which is driven towind one of the tape reels. The head drum rotatably installed on themain deck is used to record/reproduce information on the tape. Themagnetic recording/reproducing apparatus also includes a tape loadingunit to load the tape into the head drum, and a tape guide device.

[0007]FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating a conventional tapeguide device for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus. Theconventional tape guide device includes an entrance side pole base unit20 and an exit side pole base unit 30 to guide a tape T at both sides ofa head drum 10 so that the tape T surrounds the head drum 10. Theconventional tape guide also includes a plurality of guide posts 41, 42,43 and 44. The guide posts 42 and 43 are fixed on a main deck 1, and theother guide posts 41 and 44 are moved on the main deck 1 to guide thetape T and to adjust tension.

[0008] Each of the pole base units 20 and 30 is transferred in anupper/lower direction A of the main deck 1 by a transferring unit toguide the tape T Since the head drum 10 is inclined on the main deck 1at a predetermined angle, the pole base units 20 and 30 are structuredto guide the tape T to be inclined on the head drum 10 at apredetermined angle.

[0009]FIG. 2 is a schematic partial perspective view of FIG. 1.Referring to FIG. 2, the entrance side pole base unit 20 includes a polebase 21, a rotation support roller 23, and a fixed post 25. The rotationsupport roller 23 is installed on the pole base 21 to be moved in anupper/lower direction. Accordingly, a movement position of the tape T iscontrolled by adjusting a position of the rotation support roller 23 inthe upper/lower direction. Since the head drum 10 is inclined, the fixedpost 25 is inclined to the rotation support roller 23 at a predeterminedangle between the rotation support roller 23 and the head drum 10,thereby maintaining the tape T parallel.

[0010] However, the conventional tape guide device needs the rotationsupport roller 23 and the fixed post 25 to maintain the tape paralleland adjust the upper/lower position of the tape, thereby increasingcomponent parts for the tape guide and cost of the tape guide. Moreover,the components may easily contact and damage the tape.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to providea tape guide device for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus whichdecreases a number of components and simplifies a whole structure of thetape guide.

[0012] Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be setforth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will beobvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of theinvention.

[0013] The foregoing and other objects of the present invention areachieved by providing a tape guide device for a magneticrecording/reproducing apparatus, including a pole base assembly to guidea tape supplied from a supply reel and passed through a predeterminedpath to be moved horizontally to a read surface of a head drum. The polebase assembly includes a pole base installed adjacently to or separatelyfrom one side of the head drum during a loading/unloading operation ofthe tape. The pole base assembly also includes a pole unit including aspiral flange inclined to the pole base in a horizontal direction to theread surface of the head drum, to guide the tape entering the head drumto be inclined at a predetermined angle and positioned in the horizontaldirection to the read surface.

[0014] According to an aspect of the invention, the pole unit includes aguide pole installed on the pole base, and a flange member having thespiral flange and being installed at an upper end of the guide pole.

[0015] According to an aspect of the invention, the guide pole includesa fixed post being fixed to the pole base, and having a first fasteningunit of a predetermined length at its upper end. The guide pole alsoincludes a coil spring inserted into a lower end of the fixed post, aflange type ring movably supported by the fixed post to be positioned onthe coil spring, and a cylindrical guide pipe inserted into the fixedpost to have a smaller outer diameter than the ring, to support theflange member at its upper end. The guide pole includes a movable posthaving a second fastening unit fastened to the first fastening unit ofthe fixed post through the upper opened end of the guide pipe, toprevent separation of the guide pipe and the flange unit. A height ofthe ring, the guide pipe, the flange member and the movable post arecontrolled in an upper/lower direction according to a fastening state ofthe movable post and the fixed post.

[0016] According to another aspect of the invention, of the first andsecond fastening units is a bolt and the other one is a nut, thustightened by mutual rotation.

[0017] According to an aspect of the invention, a third fastening unithaving a reduced outer diameter is disposed at the upper end of theguide pipe so that the flange member is inserted thereinto.

[0018] According to yet another aspect of the invention, the tape guidedevice further includes a physical position fixing unit to constantlymaintain a right/left position of the flange member when the flangemember is moved in the upper/lower direction with the guide pipe.

[0019] According to an aspect of the invention, the physical positionfixing unit includes a fixed pin protruding from the pole base at apredetermined height in a line with the guide pole, and a guide slitunit disposed at a lower end of the flange member to guide anupper/lower movement of the flange member and to restrict a right/leftmovement thereof by using the fixed pin.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The above and other objects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent and more appreciated from the following description ofthe preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings of which:

[0021]FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating a conventional tapeguide device for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus;

[0022]FIG. 2 is a schematic partial perspective view illustrating majorcomponents of FIG. 1;

[0023]FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a magneticrecording/reproducing apparatus using a tape guide device, according toan embodiment of the present invention;

[0024]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the tape guidedevice of FIG. 3;

[0025]FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a disassembly state ofthe tape guide device of FIG. 4; and

[0026]FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating an operation of the tapeguide device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0027] Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiment of the present invention, examples of which are illustratedin the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer tolike elements throughout.

[0028]FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the magneticrecording/reproducing apparatus using a tape guide device, according toan embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a headdrum 43 is rotatably installed on a main deck 41. The head drum 43 isinclined on the main deck 41 at a predetermined angle, and rotated torecord information on a tape T or to reproduce the recorded information.A sub deck 45 is slid on the main deck 41 by a predetermined distance tobe loaded or unloaded to/from a side of the head drum 43.

[0029] A reel table 47 to drive a cassette tape is disposed at the subdeck 45. The reel table 47 includes a supply reel side table 47 a and awinding reel side table 47 b. The tape guide device guides the tapesupplied from the supply reel side table 47 a and passed through apredetermined path to be moved horizontally to a read surface 43 a ofthe head drum 43. The tape guide device includes a pole base assembly 50moved along guide rails 41 a and 45 a connected respectively to the maindeck 41 and the sub deck 45 to guide the tape.

[0030] The pole base assembly 50 includes a pole base 51 installed to bemovable on the guide rails 41 a and 45 a, and a pole unit 53 inclined onthe pole base 51 at a predetermined angle, to guide the tape to be in ahorizontal direction to the read surface 43 a of the head drum 43. Thepole base 51 is adjacent to or separated from a left side of the headdrum 43 by a link member 49 linked to the sub deck 45 during theloading/unloading operation of the sub deck 45. Here, the pole base 51is made of a plastic material.

[0031] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the pole unit 53 includes a guide pole60 installed on the pole base 51, and a flange member 70 installed at anupper end of the guide pole 60. The guide pole 60 is inclined at apredetermined angle to be positioned in the horizontal direction to theread surface 43 a of the head drum 43. The guide pole 60 includes afixed post 61 fixed to the pole base 51, a coil spring 62, a flange typering 63 and a guide pipe 64 which are sequentially connected to thefixed post 61. The guide pole 60 also includes a cap, member 65connected to an uppermost end of the fixed post 61.

[0032] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the fixed post 61 has a cylindricalbody 61 a, and is inclined to the pole base 51 at a predetermined angle.A bolt-type first fastening unit 61 b is formed at an upper end of thebody 61 a of the fixed post 61 at a predetermined length. The firstfastening unit 61 b has a smaller outer diameter than the body 61 a. Thecoil spring 62 is inserted into a lower end of the fixed post 61. Theflange type ring 63 is connected to the body 61 a of the fixed post 61to be positioned on the coil spring 62. The guide pipe 64 is movablyinserted into the fixed post 61 to be positioned on the flange type ring63. The guide pipe 64 has a smaller outer diameter than the flange typering 63. A fastening unit 64 a having a reduced outer diameter tosupport the flange member 70 is installed at an upper end of the guidepipe 64 with a predetermined width.

[0033] As described above, the coil spring 62, the ring 63 and the pipe64 are sequentially inserted into the fixed post 61. In addition, theflange member 70 is inserted into the fastening unit 64 a of the guidepipe 64.

[0034] The flange member 70 includes a spiral flange 71 inserted intothe fastening unit 64 a, and a guide slit unit 73 extended from one sideof the spiral flange 71 to a lower end thereof by a predetermineddistance. The spiral flange 71 serves as an upper/lower flange of theguide pipe 64 with the ring 63, and contacts and guides an edge of thetape. Since the head drum 43 is inclined, a spiral inclined surface 71 ato guide the tape to enter the read surface 43 a of the head drum 43 inthe horizontal direction is formed on the spiral flange 71 at apredetermined length. A fixed pin 51 a which will be explained later, isinserted into the lower end of the guide slit unit 73, to form a guideslit 73 a to maintain a constant physical position during a movement ofthe flange member 70.

[0035] The cap member 65 is connected to the fixed post 61 through theupper opened end of the guide pipe 64. The cap member 65 includes asecond fastening unit 65 a screwed to the first fastening unit 61 b ofthe fixed post 61. The second fastening unit 65 a is a nut with aninternal thread. The cap member 65 prevents the guide pipe 64 and theflange member 70 from being separated from the fixed post 61, andadjusts a height thereof. That is, the ring 63 and the pipe 64 areassembled with pressure of the coil spring 62. The height of the ring 63and the pipe 64 is adjusted by compressing the coil spring 62 accordingto a fastening state of the cap member 65. Preferably, a nut hole isformed at an upper end of the cap member 65 to obtain a sufficientheight adjusting margin of the pipe 64.

[0036] Accordingly, the height of the pipe 64 is adjusted by rotatingthe cap member 65. The pipe 64 is rotated with the cap member 65. Thus,the tape guide device further includes a physical position fixing unitto prevent resulting rotation of the flange member 70, and to guide thephysical position during the height adjustment of the pipe 64.

[0037] The physical position fixing unit includes a fixed pin 51 aprotruding from the pole base 51 at a predetermined height, and a guideslit unit 73 disposed at the lower end of the flange member 70. Theguide pin 5 la is positioned in a line with the guide pole 60 at apredetermined length, and preferably incorporated with the pole base 51.When the guide pin 5 la is inserted into the guide slit 73 a of theguide slit 73, the flange member 70 is not rotated in the right/leftdirection, but a height thereof is adjusted in the upper/lowerdirection. Therefore, the spiral inclined surface 71 a of the flangemember 70 has a predetermined angle from the head drum 43.

[0038] In accordance with the present invention, the guide pole 60 isinstalled on the pole base 51, and the flange member 70 having thespiral flange 71 is installed at the upper end of the guide pole 60,thereby guiding the tape to be moved in the horizontal direction to theread surface 43 a of the head drum 43 by using the one guide pole 60. Asillustrated in FIG. 6, the tape T supplied from the supply reel sidetable 47 a is guided to the read surface 43 a of the head drum 43 by theguide pole 60. The tape T is guided by the spiral inclined surface 71 aof the flange member 70 horizontally to the read surface 43 a of thehead drum 43. In regard to a movement height of the tape T, the heightof the guide pole 60 is adjusted by rotating the cap member 65 at apredetermined angle.

[0039] As described above, the tape guide device for the magneticrecording/reproducing apparatus guides the tape to the entrance of thehead drum in the horizontal direction by using one guide pole instead ofusing a general tape guide roller. As a result, expenses for the tapeguide device are cut down considerably due to a reduced number ofcomponents. Further, the tape may be protected by decreasing a contactarea of the tape and the tape guide device.

[0040] Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention havebeen shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled inthe art that changes may be made in the embodiment without departingfrom the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which isdefined in the claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tape guide device for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, comprising: a pole base assembly to guide a tape from a supply path to be moved in contact with a read surface of a head drum, wherein the pole base assembly comprises: a pole base installed adjacently to or separately from one side of the head drum during a loading/unloading operation of the tape; and a pole unit including a spiral flange inclined to the pole base, to guide the tape entering the head drum to be inclined at a predetermined angle.
 2. A tape guide device for a magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus, comprising: a single guide pole to guide a tape to an entrance of a head drum provided on the tape guide device. 